October 23, 2019

North Carolina Family Road Trip to Raleigh, Kinston & Outer Banks: 11-Day Itinerary

Thank you to Moon Travel Guides for Sponsoring this post. All opinions are mine alone.

If you’ve been reading and following along on our YouTube channel, you know that we went on a big North Carolina road trip this past summer! There are individual posts and videos for each leg of the road trip. Our major stops (where we spent the night) were Kinston, Ocracoke Island, Duck, and Raleigh.

The trip was not just single trips, but an 11-day connected adventure! For that reason, I also wanted to have a resource that included the itinerary as a whole. Here you’ll find a daily overview with restaurant and activity suggestions. If you’d like more information on that particular stop, each individual destination is linked in the heading.

North Carolina, particularly the Outer Banks, is part of our family history. I grew up vacationing in Duck, North Carolina, and have traveled to the barrier island regularly for over 35 years! Even though we live on the opposite coast now, we set aside time yearly to visit and adventure in this special place.

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October 22, 2019

Orcas Island Ferry: Part of the Travel Adventure

Life is a journey, not a destination.

This quote couldn’t be more fitting when thinking about and reminiscing about traveling by ferry to Orcas Island, Washington. Yes, there are more logistics to worry about when ferries are a part of your travel itinerary. However, the hassle of reservations, arriving early, and waiting are worth the effort!

Especially with kids, I also breathe a huge sigh of relief.

We can get out of the car!

Stretch our legs!

And of course, take in the views. No matter the weather, they are always beautiful, and you just never know what you might see.

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October 21, 2019

Mount Rainier National Park with Kids: Staying at Paradise Inn (+Video)

Georgia and I got to go on a mother-daughter road trip to Mount Rainier National Park this past summer. Since Bergen and I traveled to Mount Rainier National Park together in the spring of 2018, she felt like she needed a special one on one trip too! We stayed at the newly renovated Paradise Inn. Paradise Inn opened in 1916, but it was just recently renovated and reopened for the start of the 2019 summer season.

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October 18, 2019

You Have Exactly Enough Time +News & Inspiration//19

News::

We just spent a 4-day weekend on Orcas Island, one of Washington State’s San Juan Islands. It’s been several years since we last visited. Stay tuned for updates on our experience!
Weekend plans: Cheering on our Seattle Sounders in round 1 of the MLS playoffs.
The next national park fee free day is November 11th (Veteran’s Day).
Have subscribed to Think Outside Boxes yet? Now is a great time to start–they are running a 2-box special this month!

Inspiration::

Wondering how to talk to your kids about Climate Change? Outdoor Families Magazine has practical tips to help get the conversation going.
Keen Footwear having a Member’s Only sale (it’s free to join) with an extra 20% off selected styles OR you can receive $10 off with promo code: OCTOBER10DOLLARS or 10% off with promo code: OCTOBER10OFF
Book of the Week: I just finished an excellent book on goal setting, productivity, and building healthy habits called, Big Dreams, Daily Joys by Elise Blaha Cripe. I’ve read Elise’s blog and listened to her podcast, and used her daily planner for years now, and highly recommend this new book for those looking to jump start their dreams.
New on our You Tube Channel: Mother-Daughter Trip to Mount Rainier National Park.

Where have you adventured this fall? Let’s chat in the comments!

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October 17, 2019

10th Anniversary Seattle Staycation: Hotel Sorrento

Now that we’ve celebrated in the same way for three years in row, I can most definitely say we have a tradition. Every summer, Slaed and I commemorate our wedding anniversary with what we call a 24-hour date.

If you aren’t familiar with our wedding anniversary tradition, the first year, we traveled to nearby Suncadia resort, and last year we kept it even closer, and made the Arctic Club (Hilton Doubletree) our home base.

This past year was big. 10 years! To mark this momentous occasion, we decided to return to the hotel where we spent our wedding night: Seattle’s Hotel Sorrento. In addition, we sprinkled in activities (and eating, lots of eating) that were a part of our wedding weekend. Psst: If you’d like know about our getaway in visual form rather than reading about it, scroll down to the bottom, and watch our YouTube video!

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September 18, 2019

Raleigh, North Carolina with Kids: Exploring NC’s Capital City

How many capital cities have you explored? We were able to add one more capital city to our growing list, Raleigh, thanks to our recent North Carolina road trip! Usually when traveling to the NC’s Outer Banks, we fly in and out of Raleigh, and only visit the airport. For this trip, though we set some time aside, about 24 hours, so that we could explore the city a bit.

In conjunction with our family’s annual trip to North Carolina’s Outer Banks each summer, this year we decided to create more of a road trip. Rather than just visit my family’s beach cottage in Duck, North Carolina, we added stops in Kinston, NC, Ocracoke, NC, and Raleigh, NC.

In a series here on the blog, and on our YouTube channel, I will share the highlights of our experience! You can expect information on lodging, dining, and family friendly experiences in each location.

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